John Adams President # 2

1. John AdamsPresident # 2 Learn this stuff!

2. John Adams The framers of the Constitution imagined that electors would pick the 2 best candidates for president and vice president But then came political parties, which made that much more difficult. WHY?

3. Adams v. Jefferson 1796 Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans had support from farmers in the South and West Adams had supports from lawyers, merchants, businessmen in the North Adams was elected president by just 3 votes Jefferson came in 2nd and was therefore vice president

4. Alien and Sedition Acts At first Adams tried to work closely with Jefferson, but political parties made that difficult Alien and Sedition Acts were 4 laws passed by Congress to make things difficult for the Democratic Republicans Alien Acts made immigrants wait 14 years before they could become a citizen and vote

5. Alien and Sedition Acts Most aliens (immigrants) voted for the Democratic Republicans, so not letting them vote hurt the DRs and helped the Federalists Jefferson saw the Alien Acts as an attack on his party

6. Alien and Sedition Acts The Sedition Act made encouraging rebellion against the government a crime…. Good idea, right??? They said that it was illegal to write, print, or say anything hateful against the government… Problem??? The Sedition Act was used to punish DR newspapers who insulted the President

7. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions DRs viewed the Sedition Act as an attack against their 1st Amendment right to free speech and free press Jefferson and Madison wrote statements to the state governments telling them that the National Government had violated the Constitution with the Alien and Sedition Acts They urged the states to nullify the laws

8. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Only 2 states, Virginia and Kentucky adopted the resolutions because they believed their states’ rights were being violated by the national government